Fallen Hero
by Angeldoctor
Summary: Harry Potter died in that clearing when Voldemort cast the Killing Curse on him, taking Voldemort with him and dying a hero to the Wizarding World. But he didn't stay dead long. He was reborn an angel and Raphael's Ace, But the Rebellious Angel couldn't live a life without love and Fell. What will this Fallen hero do now?
1. Dying a Hero and Living as a Villain

**Prologue**

**Disclaimer:**** All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**AN: Okay, I'm posting this early cause I'm sitting in front of my computer with no class or work and I STILL can't seem to finish the next chapter! I'm hoping that by posting this prologue, your reviews will give me some inspiration. Be gentle!**

* * *

_'There's an old saying that I once heard._

_You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain._

_As is the standard for my life..._

…_.I did both.'_

Harry Potter reminiscing on his resurrection and subsequent second life

* * *

**Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts**

**May 2****nd****, 1998**

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ yelled out Voldemort gleefully as a jet of green light left his yew wand, heading toward his still arch-nemesis.

As the jet of green light approached him, Harry reflected back on his life with sadness.

To sum up, his life had been fucked up. He had been born under the shadow of a prophecy told by an old bitch who Harry personally believed should be locked in a straightjacket inside a nice padded room which was heard by someone who long ago passed the age when senility kicked in. To top it all off, it was overheard by someone who could apparently win the record for longest held grudge who went on to tell his psychopathic/ego-maniac master who is apparently afraid of death so much, he tries to escape it... in the most retarded ways possible.

Seriously, Harry thought Tom Riddle would have probably lived to a ripe old age if he'd simply done nothing at all. Idiot.

All this caused Harry to lose his parents at age one which was followed by ten years of neglect by his so-called relatives. He escaped his personal hell only to enter a world where magic apparently makes a good substitute for logic.

I mean seriously, who the hell orders children to leave a large, fortified space with only one entrance or exit when there was a homicidal magical creature on the loose?

Every year in the magical world either tested his patience for idiotic people or made him wonder whether he was cursed to never be at peace. First year: Philosopher's Stone. Second year: Basilisk. Third year: Dementors. Fourth year: Tri-Wizard Tournament. Fifth year: Umbitch and Voldemort in his head. Sixth year: Draco the Death Eater. And to finish it off, his seventh year was spent traipsing around the countryside with no clear direction followed by a living garbage disposal that complains about _every little thing_ and the girl in love with said garbage disposal.

If anyone should have a girl willing to put out following him around the countryside, it should be him dammit!

And now, just when he thought it might all be over soon and he could live a normal life, he finds out his dick of a headmaster had been leading him by the nose all his life just so he could sacrifice himself. The worst part was that the dickhead headmaster in question had him pegged and Harry wasn't so selfish as to let others suffer just so he could live. He had to trust that Neville, Ron and Hermione would be up to the task of finishing what they started. He hoped Ginny would move on from his death and find love. While he didn't know if what he felt for her had been really love, he did care about her deeply enough that he wanted her happy.

Just as the green light was about to hit him, Harry was struck by a sudden, extremely depressing thought.

_'Oh, shit, I'm gonna die a virgin!'_, thought Harry in a panic.

Just as he thought that, the Killing Curse hit.

Now, there was something you need to understand about magic. It works in mysterious ways. This is loser speak for 'I have no idea how it works only that it does'. However, in this case what happened was very simple.

Every horcrux is classified by magic under the name of the soul inside the receptacle. In other words, the locket, cup and diary were all named Tom Riddle in the eyes of magic. In the case of living horcruxes such as Harry and Nagini, they were named Harry/Tom and Nagini/Tom. So in layman terms, it meant that magic considered Harry both Harry Potter and Tom Riddle.

So when Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at Harry, what happened was basically, "Tom Riddle cast the Killing Curse at Tom Riddle, killing Tom Riddle and Tom Riddle survives."

The lack of sense in that statement alone should tell you that this was an error and magic futilely tried to correct it. If magic had a television screen it would be reading one massive SYSTEM ERROR that it desperately tried to fix. When it found it couldn't, it responded the same way it always did to a failed spell of such a magnitude.

With a very large explosion.

The remaining defenders of Hogwarts looked up in alarm as they felt the ground tremble from a massive explosion. Those on the grounds picking up the dead or on the battlements saw a massive ball of light expand from somewhere near the center of the Forbidden Forest, creating a massive clearing where there was once trees and vegetation. The ball of light stayed present for a few seconds before dissipating, leaving everyone wondering what happened and what it meant.

* * *

In said newly created clearing, there was a large crater about 100 feet deep with the epicenter being where Harry once stood. The crater itself almost had a radius of a mile and there were no signs of anyone having survived the blast. Everyone in the radius of the blast, which included Voldemort, his Death Eaters and, sadly, Hagrid, had been vaporized. Since Nagini had also been there and it had been Voldemort's last Horcrux along with Harry himself, it meant Voldemort was finally dead for good.

In the very center of the clearing, the smoke slowly cleared, revealing the body of one Harry Potter, untouched and unmarked but at the same time, unmistakably dead. Lying on top of him and beside him was an odd assortment of things: a cloak, an old wand and a stone with a strange marking etched on it. The items glowed for a second before seemingly sinking into his body, leaving no trace they'd ever been there.

All was quiet for a minute, until there was another, smaller burst of light right next to Harry's corpse. Once the light cleared it revealed the presence of another person.

This person was a dark-skinned man with a thin layer of black hair on his head, dressed in an obviously expensive business suit. The suit was simple, with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath a black dress jacket that was buttoned up completely, a black tie and black pants finished off with black dress shoes. The entire ensemble gave him an air of severity which wasn't helped by the look on his face. His face seemed almost etched from stone and had a look of someone who rarely smiled and was almost always serious. He seemed like a person who lived only for his job and had little if any personal time of his own.

While the person may look unremarkable walking through the streets of New York or even inside the office of a large corporation, this person was in fact one of the most powerful beings in Creation. This person was none other than Raphael, Seraph of the Angelic horde and one of those who guards the Throne of the God of the Bible.

Raphael looked down on the corpse of the last of Evans line with a deep frown on his face as he contemplated what he was about to do.

Not many knew it but the Evans line came from a long line of Exorcists. They were actually of the very few Exorcist families in existence due to the high risk and low reward the job entailed. Very few Exorcists lived long enough to have a family, much less make it a family business. Yet somehow, the Evans had not only done so but done so for over a thousand years, becoming almost as infamous amongst Fallen Angels and Devils as the Seraphs themselves. The fact that there had never been a single Evans to ever turn his back on the work of God was also noteworthy.

However, one generation ago, something happened that no one expected. Lily Evans was born with the potential to wield wizard magic.

While non-magical families giving birth to magic-users wasn't rare, it had never before happened in an exorcist family, much less one of such renown as the Evans. This had opened an entire new avenue of opportunities for the Angels. They had long known about the Devils' Evil Piece System and had started to fear that the Devils would someday regain their numbers while the Angels stayed in their weakened state. The death of God (a heavily kept secret for obvious reasons) during the Great War meant no new Angels were being created, and therefore, no new soldiers to fight. As it was, the Angels were forced to pull back and let demons, the ancient enemy of Heaven predating even Lucifer's Fall, take over some sections of the world, usually Third World countries, or risk being overrun.

Lily Evans changed all that. To say she met their expectations was an understatement. She completely surpassed them and created the Brave Saints system, one similar to the Devils' Evil Piece system but made to resurrect humans and other beings into angels. For the first time since the death of God, Heaven had hope to regain its previous strength, even if it meant recruiting from humans and other species.

Personally, Raphael sometimes wondered if his dream was possible. Raphael dream was a utopian world where man could live alongside their fellow creatures in peace. A world free of war and conflict where no one need fear losing their loved one to anything but time. For that reason, he had given King Arthur Excalibur and empowered him in hopes that he would make his dream a reality.

Of course, that all came crashing down thanks to the actions of three people: Mordred, Guinevere and Lancelot. The last one was especially hard to swallow considering Raphael had given both him and Gawain the sister swords of Excalibur and Raphael had been sure Lancelot truly believed in his dream as well. Lancelot and Guinevere's betrayal had been the catalyst that eventually led to Arthur's death at Camlann, ending Raphael's hopes for making his dream reality.

But when Lily Evans created the Brave Saints, he had hope once more. Instead of using a human as a medium, he would be the King himself and his Brave Saints would be his knights. They would reclaim the world from the demons first and then spread Christianity even further across the world, re-enflaming Christian faith and hopefully, spreading peace across the world.

However, Lily Evans and the Brave Saints system were the reason he was here. Lily was much loved in Heaven for her contribution and even Michael had a soft spot for the pure-hearted woman who gave her life for her child. Even Raphael had to grudgingly admit that it was hard to find a flaw in the woman. He would have loved nothing more than to have resurrected her as one of his Brave Saints, but her use of an angelic spell of self-sacrifice meant that doing so would have stripped young Harry of his mother's protection, something he needed to this day. Knowing of Harry's death was coming when she was brought forth by the Resurrection Stone, Lily had begged him to resurrect him as one of his Brave Saints.

Normally, Raphael would have dismissed such a notion out of hand. While the Potter boy was certainly brave and courageous, he had a certain lack of regard for authority figures that annoyed Raphael to no end. As a person who believed rules existed for a reason and should therefore be followed at all times, Raphael considered Harry's frequent disregard for them to not be a quality he wished for one of his Brave Saints and a member of his peerage. He would have much preferred someone like that Granger girl. Brains and a healthy respect for the chain of command, a perfect combination.

However, Michael had agreed with Lily's favor and even had gone so far as say that perhaps Harry's presence would be good for him. Raphael scowled at the thought of him learning anything of value from such a disrespectful boy but accepted that Michael's authority outstripped his own. As the new God, he ruled over Heaven now and Raphael always followed the chain of command, even if he didn't agree with the decision personally.

There was another reason Raphael was so reticent in resurrecting the boy and it had to do with his ancestry on his father's side. While the Potters were simple wizards for most of their line, they, like most purebloods, interbred with many of their second and third cousins in order to keep their blood pure. While even this didn't bother Raphael, this had led to them interbreeding with a family that Raphael personally wished had been wiped out from the face of the Earth long ago.

The Blacks.

The family didn't choose its name in a whim. The original Black was the child of a male Devil and a human woman. This meant that the man was a half-Devil and had an inclination toward the darker magics as well as inheriting Devil magic. This inclination continued down the family line, reinforced from the many times they once more bred with Devils to keep their line "pure", meaning the Devil blood stayed strong. That was the true meaning behind the Black saying, "Always Pure". In fact, Harry's grandmother Dorea Black was the daughter of a Devil, meaning Harry himself was at the very least 1/8 Devil.

This was shown in Harry's unusual proficiency in combat spells and the like, something very unusual considering his mother and father were Charms and Transfiguration masters, respectively. It was only made worse by the fact that to this day he still had Basilisk venom, one of the darkest substances in the magical world, only beaten by Dementor's blood, in his blood constantly being beat back by the phoenix tears Fawkes donated. The fact that there was a Devil branch of phoenixes only made it worse in Raphael's mind.

All this meant that there was little doubt that Harry would also show proficiency in darkness manipulation and magic as well as angelic light manipulation and magic. Despite this, Michael had insisted and Raphael never disobeyed orders.

With a sigh of surrender, Raphael took out an Ace of Clubs playing card from his inner jacket pocket that was glowing slightly blue. Raphael couldn't help but admire the culmination of Lily's research. Despite all their faults, Raphael had to grudgingly accept that humans are quite creative when they wanted to be.

Raphael kneeled down and pressed the card against Harry's corpse and said the incantation to resurrect him as a Brave Saint. Raphael watched as the card flashed slightly before sinking into Harry's corpse, causing it to glow blue slightly. As the resurrection worked, Raphael was slightly impressed as he sensed his new Ace's potential. While he may have lost his human magic, the Potter boy showed to have a lot of potential in using divine magic. The similarities between the two disciplines should be enough that he wouldn't have too much trouble acclimatizing himself. He certainly already had experience in combat at the very least.

Seeing that the resurrection worked, Raphael nodded to himself as he waved his hand over Harry, causing his now unconscious body to slowly float, and started to make plans. The boy's heritage in Gringotts would have to be retrieved. Amongst the large Potter fortune were several angelic texts that had been in Lily's possession the night she died. With Harry's official 'death' in the Wizarding World, no doubt that fortune would be spread amongst many people with either tenuous blood connections to the boy or who simply want some gold. While Raphael didn't care two whits about the gold (though it would be useful for when they sent their agents to Earth for missions), he couldn't allow those texts to fall into the wrong hands. Wizards were dangerous enough with their bastardization of Devil magic, who knows what horrors they'd unleash if they perverted angelic magic as well.

No. Raphael would have to send his Jack of Clubs to collect the Potter fortune and heirlooms completely just to make sure he didn't miss anything. The gold probably wouldn't mean anything to the newly resurrected angel so they could use it to fund their ground operations while the heirlooms and the like could stay in the boy's ownership once he found the angelic texts in question.

His plan in place, Raphael placed a hand on the floating boy's still unconscious form and closed his eyes. Twelve large white wings burst from Raphael's back and wrapped around them both before they disappeared in a flash of light, leaving no trace of their presence having ever been there.

* * *

Harry slowly woke up with a groan as light seemed to hit his eyes, calling for him to wake up. Despite wanting nothing more than to curl up and sleep for another hour in this extremely comfortable bed, Harry slowly opened his eyes and sat up.

Harry looked around and noticed he was in a very nice room, at least compared to what he was used to. It was painted predominantly white with a little blue here and there. It had a dresser, a night table next to his bed and a medium-sized closet. There were two doors, one of which Harry saw led to a regular-sized bathroom.

Harry blinked and looked down as he realized the bed he was in was a large king-sized four poster with a blue canopy. The sheets and comforter were so comfortable that Harry could only guess they were magicked that way, though it was certainly much more comfortable than other similarly magicked beds.

Suddenly, the memory of what happened in the clearing hit him and he looked around in panic. What happened? Did he somehow miraculously survive once more? Was Voldemort finally killed and beaten? And if he did survive and Voldemort was dead (which was the only reason Harry could think of why he was in a comfortable bed instead of a dungeon cell), why was he here, wherever here was, and not in the Gryffindor 7th year dorm or the Hospital Wing?

Harry slowly got up and saw a pair of black dress pants and a long-sleeved dress shirt hanging on the closet door along with a pair of expensive black dress shoes. Guessing they were for him and realizing that it was doubtful it was a trap since they could have hurt him while he slept if they wished, Harry got dressed.

Once he was done, Harry had to keep himself from fidgeting at the feel of the uncomfortable clothing on his skin. Long used to either baggy clothing (since his cousin's was so much larger than him) or loose robes, the itchy and tight clothing bothered him something fierce. However, he preferred them to being naked and they were obviously expensive so it would be rude to refuse to wear them. He once again wondered where he was and why he was there.

All his questions were put on hold when the door leading outside opened, revealing a dark-skinned man with a thin layer of black hair and an air of severity that made Professor McGonagall seem like a party girl. The man was dressed in a business suit that made Uncle Vernon's suits look like cheap dime-priced imitations and only enhanced his severe look. If Prof. McGonagall looked like someone he didn't want to cross in his first year, this man made him want to snap to attention with his sheer presence alone.

"I see you've finally recovered," said the man calmly. "That is good. I was wondering if you were planning on lazing about all day."

Harry couldn't help but feel offended at the man's words. He had just finished sacrificing himself for his friends, not lazing about!

The man seemed to be able to read his mind because he cocked an eyebrow at him. "While I admire your courage to sacrifice yourself for your friends, that does not give you a free pass to do as you like. Wanting the world to be good to you because you're nice is like expecting the bull not to charge when you're wearing red because you're a vegetarian."

Harry opened his mouth to retort only to come up short as he realized all his prior experiences proved the man's words true. After all, all Harry's good deeds had ever gotten him was a fickle crowd and a young death.

That last thought brought Harry back to the important things, such as his apparent survival. "So... I'm sorry, but I didn't get your name?"

The man cocked his eyebrow yet again. "It is polite to give one's name first before asking for it. You cannot believe yourself to be so famous as to not need to, do you?"

Flushing in anger as the man's words so eerily echoed Snape's taunts about his fame, Harry was about to respond with a scathing retort only to be brought short by the man's narrowed eyes. Somehow, Harry got the feeling that his usual attitude toward authority figures would go over as well as throwing a niffler in the middle of Gringotts bank. Harry could also sense that the man was powerful in a way that made Dumbledore look weak in comparison and didn't want to test his luck so soon after apparently surviving one near-death experience.

Seeing that Harry was sufficiently cowed, the man nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Learning to control that temper and tongue of yours will be an important part of your training. As for your question, Mr. Potter, my name is Raphael and I am a Seraph of the Angelic Horde of the Biblical God."

Harry's mouth went dry as the man's words registered. "Wait, what?"

Raphael simply raised an eyebrow at him and scoffed. "Denial is such an annoying human trait. Yes, I am Raphael the Seraph from your Sunday Bible classes."

"I never went to those classes," said Harry absently before shaking his head at the statement. "No, that's not... you can't be Raphael, cause then that would mean I'm-"

"Dead?" interrupted Raphael sternly. At Harry's shaky nod, Raphael cocked his head at him. "You are not dead." At Harry's sigh of relief, he continued. "Yet Harry James Potter is."

Harry blinked at the, in his head, contrary statement before frowning. "How can I be dead yet not be at the same time?"

Raphael sighed before entering the room completely and closing the door behind him. "What I mean is that, to the world at large, Harry James Potter died on May 3rd, 1998 just before daybreak after killing Voldemort and all his remaining followers. When the Killing Curse hit you, a horcrux for the very man casting the Curse, the magic rebounded spectacularly, killing everything and everyone within half a mile of you and creating quite a spectacular crater. I believe they've taken to calling it the 'Crater of Freedom' or some such thing. Really, the names you humans give things just boggle the mind."

Harry's mind raced as he took in this information. "But... why would they think I'm dead if I'm alive?" A thought gripped Harry's mind as he tensed and looked at Raphael suspiciously. "Did you kidnap me?"

Raphael scoffed. "I did not, as you say, kidnap you. You _died_ that day that much was certain. However, due to orders from my boss, I resurrected you as my Ace." Seeing Harry about to question what he meant, Raphael raised his hand to stop the oncoming questions. "Before you ask, the particulars will be explained by someone else. I just came to see if you were awake and to let you know what happened. All you need to know is that you were dead. However, certain people pulled some strings and ordered me to resurrect you. However, the consequence of this is that you can never return to your previous life. The duties of your new station would make that quite impossible as you will find out soon."

There was a knock on the door and Raphael nodded to himself in satisfaction. "That would be your tutor on your new station. Please be polite since I had to ask a few favors in order to get her to be the one to teach you."

Harry was still in shock from what he had heard or else he'd be a lot more rebellious about the man's presumption to order him around. However, something deep inside told him to obey the man and, thinking it was his gut and not knowing what being his 'Ace' meant, Harry complied.

Raphael walked toward the door and opened it, revealing a young girl around Harry's age. She was short and petite, with light skin and violet-colored eyes. Her hair was black much like Harry's, with several strands of hair hanging between her eyes. She was wearing a knee-length purple skirt and a long-sleeved white shirt similar to Harry's only obviously meant for females. She had a respectful look on her face as she curtsied toward Raphael.

"Good morning, my lord Seraph. I have come as requested. Is this the boy I am to teach?" the girl asked in a soft voice.

Raphael nodded his head firmly. "Yes, this is Harry Potter. I have explained how he still breathes and most of what happened while he was recovering. Incidentally," Raphael turned back to a still confused Harry, "I have sent my Jack to collect your family fortune and heirlooms. It would be... _inadvisable_ to leave some of the tomes in your family vault to be sold among wizardkind. Therefore, I sent my Jack to reclaim it all and bring it here. Once certain tomes that belong to me have been returned, the rest will be yours to do as you wish."

Harry wondered how they hoped to take all his money, which wasn't a small amount, and heirlooms from out of Gringotts without his presence but put it on the list of things to ask the girl.

Nodding to himself, Raphael turned back to the girl. "I leave him in your care, Ms. Kuchiki. I will be back tonight after I have settled some things. Once you've explained the basics, you may take him to Ms. Evans' location and she will explain the rest I imagine."

The now revealed Ms. Kuchiki nodded in understanding and curtsied as he walked away. Once he left, she entered the room and gestured for Harry to sit on the bed while she seemingly conjured a chair in mid-air without a wand and sat down on it.

Harry was shocked at the casual display of wandless magic and quickly asked how she did that.

The girl cocked an eyebrow before smiling proudly. "The kind of magic we use doesn't need a focus like magicians do. It's too powerful so any focus we use would just explode in our hands so we have to learn to do it wandlessly. Simple conjurations and elemental magic don't require incantations, which are only for the really high-tier stuff. Something like this is easy once you get the hang of it," said Ms. Kuchiki with an air of superiority. It wasn't snobbish like some purebloods but did give off an air of believing her kind of magic was better than others'.

Slightly miffed at her thinking but unable to think of a way to deny it since he doubted even Dumbledore could conjure such an ornate chair wandlessly, he just stayed quiet.

Seeing that he wasn't going to retort, the girl smiled before patting her skirt down and speaking. "Now, to start things off my name is Rukia Kuchiki. I am the Seven of the Seraph Sariel and I have been an angel for 4 years."

Harry blinked as what she said processed. "What do you mean by 'Seven'? Is it like what Raphael said I was his 'Ace'? And what do you mean you've been an angel for 4 years? Does that mean people who die become angels? Does that-"

A large slap to the face stopped the onslaught of questions coming from Harry's mouth as Rukia was smiling at him in a way that made him gulp in fear.

"I can't answer your questions if you don't let me answer, now can I?" asked Rukia in a false sweet tone. At Harry's slightly shaky no, Rukia nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, it's best to start at the beginning and things will become clear as I explain, okay?" At Harry's reluctant nod, Rukia continued. "Now what do you know about what the Bible says happened when the world was created?"

Harry's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Um... I think it said that God created the world and everything and then created Man and Woman. Then some evil angel caused them to be tossed out of the Garden and bad stuff happened because of that. Sorry, my relatives didn't really let me out much."

Rukia nodded. "Don't worry; it's better than what I hoped. I'll tell you the true history." Rukia sighed and pulled out a large white board similar to the one used by teachers from... somewhere and set it up in front of the bed and pulled out a black marker as she began her lecture.

"Now…. In the beginning, when Lucifer Fell, he went to the Underworld and, using the blood of a pure demon, turned himself into the first Devil. He then went on to corrupt humans and turned them into Devils as well and so started to create his army. At the same time, Angels who had done things that angered God such as falling into lust or greed and such had Fallen from Grace and became Fallen Angels. From this came the Three Factions: Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils."

While Harry understood the lecture, he was trying his hardest not to show his incredulity on his face. This was because as she explained she drew pictures on the board to demonstrate what she was explaining. The problem was that every figure had rabbit-like features for some reason, with a rabbit nose and ears and all. It was hard for Harry to take it seriously when Lucifer looked like a constipated black bunny and the Fallen Angels looked more like falling rabbits with black wings.

And let's not get into the Angels themselves. Harry seriously doubted the Angels went to battle with glowing carrots.

Rukia was ignorant to Harry's growing amusement and incredulity and continued. "Now these Three Factions eventually went to war with each other. The War went on for thousands of years, taking many casualties from both sides and causing much destruction in the Human World." Rukia drew black rabbits fighting white rabbits with black wings and white rabbits with white wings and fire and lightning falling around them. Despite the seriousness of the discussion, Harry had to stop himself from laughing at the sight. "So, any questions so far?"

Harry couldn't help himself from asking, "Yeah, why is everyone a freaking rabbit?"

WHAM!

"Son of a-!" yelled Harry as Rukia somehow lifted the entire board and slammed it on his head. Despite how it should have, at the very least, knocked him out, Harry stayed conscious. Though the pain made him wish he'd been knocked unconscious. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Don't insult my drawings!" retorted the now obviously insane petite angel as she glared at him. "You're lucky I'm even using my valuable time to teach such an obvious barbarian like you!"

Harry wanted to retort with the fact that she had been ordered to by Raphael but realized that saying that would only get him another smack. Mumbling an apology, Harry hissed as the pain slowly faded and they went back to Rukia's lecture.

"Now," huffed a still irritated Rukia. "As I was saying. The War continued for millennia until eventually all three sides realized that continuing would only result in mutual destruction and a cease-fire was formed. However, before the cease-fire came into being, all Four Satans, which were Lucifer and the first Three Devils he created, and God had been killed."

Any amusement Harry felt at Rukia's drawings disappeared as what she said filtered into his brain. "Wait, what?! God had been killed?! But how-?!"

Rukia gave a tight smile. "Despite what Christians believe, the God of the Bible was NOT the Creator of everything. He was a powerful chieftain God, certainly, but not the creator. He was about equal to Odin and other All-Father gods in strength and had certain abilities that put him above them in some ways but not all-powerful. And in war... the worst always happens."

Harry remembered Fred's dead body and Percy's mournful cries. He remembered Dobby's final moments and Hermione's screams as she was tortured. "Yeah... war is hell."

Rukia smiled tightly at that before clearing her throat and continuing. "Anyway, with God's death the angels had a problem. Michael ascended to become the new God but he lacked something the original God of the Bible had. The Original God was the only one that could create new angels and the war had severely depleted the angels' forces. The devils had created a system called the Evil Piece system which allowed them to reincarnate recently deceased humans and other creatures into Devils that served under them. Angels tried to copy it but failed. The devils had something we didn't... creativity."

"You see, Angels represent Order while Devils represent Chaos. Chaos is obviously more creative than Order and so can develop things we can't. The Evil Piece system is just one example. For centuries, the angels feared that the Devils would eventually regain their strength and destroy them. This fear festered for centuries until a generation ago something happened that gave them hope."

Rukia looked at Harry as she dropped the bomb. "Lily Evans, the daughter of two exorcists, was born with the ability to wield wizard magic."

Harry froze and his eyes widened at Rukia's words. "You mean-"

"Yes," interrupted Rukia. "Your mother, Lily Evans, later Lily Potter came from a long line of exorcists. Exorcists are mortals who do God's work on Earth by hunting Stray devils and demons who prey on the faithful. She had been raised to take up the family legacy until it was found that she could wield mortal magic. Being mortal and capable of magic as well as having an insight into Angel physiology and such that others lacked, gave Lily the tools necessary to do something that gave hope to Heaven once more."

"She created the Brave Saints system." said Rukia almost reverently.

"The Brave Saints system?" asked Harry confusingly.

"The Brave Saints system," lectured Rukia. "which Lily created by imitating the concept of the Evil Pieces, is a set of 12 cards which each of the Seraph and high-level Angels have in order to reincarnate other beings into Angels. High-level Angels choose the "suit" of their liking, though the ones with a fixated "suit" are Michael with Spade , Gabriel with Heart , Raphael with Club , and Uriel with Diamond . Most of the reincarnated Angels so far are former humans. Unlike Devils who base their choice on strength alone regardless of the species, the Heavens choose and reincarnate talented humans who are strong followers and have a "pure heart"." explained Rukia patiently. "The cards also have the ability to resurrect recently deceased humans as Angels as well."

Slowly things started to make sense to Harry. "So... when I died... Raphael resurrected me as an Angel?" At Rukia's nod, Harry slowly grew angry. "Why? I don't want to fight in your war. I already died fighting in the one I was in!"

While Harry may be happy to be alive, the fact was that he was basically conscripted to fight in somebody else's war. While Harry may have a "saving people" thing as Hermione had put it, dammit he just wanted a normal life! At least dead he would be with his parents again.

Harry hadn't missed certain clues they'd left about not being able to return to his old life. Beyond the fact that his return would bring about an uproar in the Wizarding World, he was an Angel now. He doubted he would be able to hide that for long since he was pretty sure Angels don't age and are forbidden from procreating. Rukia did say some Angels had Fallen due to lust, after all. Eventually, he would be found out and then shit would hit the fan.

Anymore angry thoughts left his mind when Rukia whacked him over the head with a small book she'd conjured. "Ow! What was that for?!" asked Harry angrily.

"For being stupid," said Rukia bluntly. "Let me ask you something, if the Devils regain their strength and decide to conquer Heaven, what do you think will happen?"

"Um... war?" asked Harry hesitantly; still afraid she'd whack him again.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Yes, idiot, war. And we'd lose. Heaven is still weak from the last War so we'd be overrun. And that means not only would the Angels be destroyed but so would the souls we protect."

Harry stiffened as Rukia's words finally hit home. "Souls we protect? You mean..."

"Yes," said Rukia quietly. "This is Heaven, after all. This is home to more than just Angels but to good souls as well. If you died and came here, you still would have been dragged into the War if they attacked. At least now you have the means to defend not only yourself but your loved ones as well. I know that at least Lily Evans has a special place here in Heaven. If the Devils succeeded in wiping the Angels out, they'd go after the souls next, including Lily. What do you think they'd do to the woman who created the Brave Saints system?"

Harry gritted his teeth as he realized Rukia was right. While he hated that he was dragged into this war against his will, he would hate it even more if he was forced to watch his family be killed or tortured in front of him and be unable to even do anything.

Rukia laid a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "It's not so bad. As an Angel, you get to go down to Earth from time to time and you can also see your loved ones here in Heaven. So it's sort of the best of both worlds, don't you think?"

Harry nodded slowly before looking at Rukia suspiciously. "Nothing comes for free. What's the catch?"

Rukia grimaced before speaking. "You have to follow the rules or risk Falling. A Fallen Angel has no true home. While the Fallen have territory in the Underworld, it's not really a home for them. Furthermore, if you break the rules and Fall you'd never be welcomed into Heaven again... ever."

Harry gulped at the thought. While obeying rules he never agreed to bothered him, never seeing his family again in any way if he broke them bothered him more.

"So what are these rules?" asked Harry calmly.

Rukia smiled as she saw Harry had calmed down. "It's pretty basic. No sinning, obviously, so no falling into one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Also, no sex outside of a certain ritual that takes several hours to perform and the sex can only be done with true love or the thought of procreation in mind."

Harry grimaced at that last one. _'Great,'_ thought Harry sarcastically. _'I die a virgin only to be reborn into a life of celibacy. If God wasn't dead, I'd say he has a sense of humor.'_

Luckily, Rukia didn't see his grimace and continued. "You'll learn more about the rules as you go along. The important thing to know right now is your duties which are to answer the prayers of the faithful that your King, Raphael, tells you to answer as well as any other small jobs he has for you."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I don't understand. You said that Heaven desperately needed help to regain its strength and even said something about demons. What's the difference between demons and Devils? You say it like they're two different things."

Rukia nodded seriously and started to draw on the white board again. "Now is the important part. The list of our enemies and information on them."

Rukia took a deep breath as she started her lecture. "Now, first you need to understand something. There are Devils and there are demons. Devils are descended from Lucifer's bloodline either through birth or resurrection. There hasn't been a Devil created the same way Lucifer turned himself into one since his death. So all current Devils have some kind of blood connection to either Lucifer, one of his three Satan generals: Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus; or to one of 72 pillars which are the families descended from the original 72 Devils he created. Devils who are former humans resurrected as Devils share the blood of the Devil who resurrected them."

"Devils live in the Underworld which is different from the Hell you know of. The Underworld was created when Lucifer was cast out of Heaven into the Chaosplasm, which was a chaotic realm left over from when Creation came to be. Using his powers, he turned that realm into what is now known as the Underworld. The Underworld is roughly the same size as the Human world but with a much larger landmass, as there are no oceans. The sky is purple during both the day and night. The Underworld is currently split into two regions: The Devils' Region and the Fallen Angels' Region. Are you with me so far?" asked Rukia imperiously.

Harry nodded as he tried not to laugh at the rabbit-themed Devils she'd drawn though he had to admire her drawing skill. It looked pretty detailed, if childish.

Seeing that Harry was paying attention, she continued. "Now, demons on the other hand are different. Demons are an ageless supernatural species that have existed since Creation's dawning. They represent the darkness that existed before light came to the world. The Demon World itself is an extension of the original darkness that covered the universe before the coming of light. It is in the Demon World where natural demons are born and also seems to serve as a source of power for the demons born there. The Demon World is what's known as Hell and is separate from the worlds of the Underworld, Earth and Heaven which as all interconnected. The only way demons manage to get to Earth is by traveling through an intermediate world called Limbo, also known as Purgatory. In Limbo, even humans can see demons' true form.

"Demons come in various shapes and sizes but they all have monstrous true forms and share the desire to destroy all of Creation. Not much is known about the hierarchy of Demon World beyond the rankings of lesser demons and that they are all ruled by the Demon King. The original Demon King was killed in battle before Lucifer's Fall but a new one has taken his place since. No one knows who the new Demon King is but whoever he is, he's smart. Demons nowadays either manipulate humans to sin so they end up in Hell or simply for their own sick entertainment. Between Devils and demons, demons are by far our worst enemy. The Great War weakened us so much that it's all we can do to defend the places on Earth that we have the most influence meaning the demons have spread amongst those we don't."

Harry took all this in with a solemn look on his face. "But what about those places ange- I mean we don't have influence? Do we just abandon them?"

Rukia huffed. "Harry, while Christianity is the widest spread religion, it's not universal. There are other religions and they have their own pantheons which _do_ exist. We can only interfere in places that follow our religion or we risk starting a war with the other pantheons. Unfortunately, those pantheons are either too weak to really do anything against the demons or don't care."

"What about the places that don't follow any established religion or follow a religion that doesn't have a pantheon?" asked Harry curiously. "Do we interfere there?"

Rukia grimaced at the hard question. "Harry…. We can only interfere if we're called through prayers. For those places that don't pray to us…."

Harry's jaw tightened in anger. "So you're saying we just abandon them because they don't pray to us?! Aren't we supposed to be angels, defenders of all that is good and righteous and all that?!"

"Maybe," said Rukia stiffly. "But we're also soldiers first, Harry. And soldiers follow orders."

Harry grit his teeth and slowly controlled his anger. Getting angry wouldn't change anything and he couldn't just go off without even an idea of how to use his new powers.

Harry sighed and looked up at Rukia. "Sorry, I got angry but it's not your fault. Is there anything else I need to know? Do I need to know about the other pantheons?"

Rukia shook her head in the negative. "Not really. We rarely interact with them unless we manage to ascend to high-level Angels. By then we'll know everything we need to know anyway. Now come on and get up, it's time for what will probably be the favorite part of my lecture."

Harry was confused as he got off the bed and stood at the foot of it. Harry blushed when Rukia came up to him and hugged him.

With an equally large blush, Rukia huffed at him. "Sorry but I still need to have a lot of contact with a passenger when I travel the angel way. I haven't had a lot of practice with taking a passenger so hold on."

Eyes widening, Harry didn't have time to ask what she meant when everything was engulfed in light and he went through a sensation similar to a Portkey but without feeling the actual drag as he was pulled along. It was similar to being on a roller coast without the nauseous aftereffects.

Once they arrived, Harry looked around to find something that caused his heart to leap into his throat.

In front of a surprised Harry James Potter was Potter Cottage, which he had last seen in December half-destroyed in Godric's Hollow. It was whole now with the sun shining softly down on it; it looked like a perfect piece of Heaven.

Looking back at Rukia, she smiled softly at him before nodding toward the cottage. "Go on. They're waiting for you."

Harry gulped and shakily made his way up the familiar path, last seen through the eyes of his enemy and now finally through his own. Harry slowly reached the door and opened it, before standing in the entry hall.

The house looked exactly as he saw in Voldemort's memories, except better since it was bathed in sunlight from the doorway. Harry took in the sight of every photo like a starving man and turned when he heard a voice that was achingly familiar.

"James, is that you? Did you manage to find that idiot Sirius and Remus? You have to hurry because Harry could be here at any minute and I want the party to be ready for when he arrives." Called out a very much whole Lily Evans from what he guessed was the dining room. When he didn't answer, his tongue stuck in his throat, she walked out into the entry hall to see what was wrong.

Harry had heard many times that his mother was beautiful but never really understood till now what they meant. She had a modest figure, not a supermodel but enough to turn heads if she dressed correctly. Her hair was a thick, dark red and her eyes were very familiar, seeing as Harry saw it every time he looked into a mirror. However, it wasn't her figure that made her beautiful but her inner light. Her warmth, kindness and love were so strong that it shined from her, making her outshine even Veela when they actively used their aura.

Harry finally understood why people always recognized his eyes as Lily's instead of simple green eyes. They shined with an inner light, magic and warmth that most didn't have and gave her a unique look that was only copied by her son.

Lily froze as soon as she entered the entry hall, a trembling hand going to her mouth as she realized who was standing there. A smile slowly overtook her face as tears started going down her cheeks.

"Harry?"

That was all it took for Harry's legs to move almost without command and he barreled into her so fast she almost fell over, engulfing her in a fierce hug. She was warm to the touch, her soft arms circling him as he cried into her hair, absently realizing he was much taller than her. All previous thoughts and concerns vanished as he realized the one thing he wanted was literally wrapped around him.

"Mum," said Harry tearfully into her hair, feeling no shame for the tears going down his face. "Is it really you?"

Lily broke the hug to smile up at her son. "Yes, Harry. It's really me and no one is going to separate us again. I promise."

The two reunited family members hugged once more as they basked in the warmth of their reunion.

Back outside, Rukia had a small smile on her face as she witnessed the emotional family reunion that slowly dropped. "I think it's kind cruel to manipulate him like this, Lord Raphael."

Beside her, Raphael shimmered into existence, witnessing the same spectacle with a neutral gaze. "I am not manipulating him. After all he has gone through he deserves this moment. If along the way he finds a reason to fight, so much the better."

"I still think it's manipulative but perhaps you're right, my lord," said Rukia in a calm tone that hid her unease at the manipulation.

Raphael eyed Rukia for a second before speaking. "What do you think of him? You've seen his life on Earth and talked to him. What do you think?" This was the true reason Raphael had pulled so many favors to get her to teach Harry the basics which anyone could have taught. Rukia's best ability was the skill to correctly sum up a person's personality through just a few conversations with the person. Her having watched Harry's life before meeting him only made her conclusion that much more accurate.

Rukia took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Harry is…. unique. To him, there is nothing more important than friendship. He is the most loyal man I've ever seen or met—loyal beyond reason. To him, abstractions like _peace_ don't mean much to him. He's loyal to _people_, not to principles. And he expects loyalty in return. He would go to great lengths and take great risks in order to help others, particularly his loved ones He is an extremely brave, loyal, and selfless person and possesses a tremendous strength of character. He isn't the kind of person that can be cowed or bullied into submission.

"While he doesn't mind putting himself in danger, he'll react violently if his loved ones are put into danger. I pity the fool who tries to hurt his loved ones because I doubt they'll live long. For that reason he'll probably throw his all into defending Heaven from demonic forces. He is naturally honest and despises lying and deception, and especially hates politics, probably considering most politicians to be greedy and self-conceited. Harry also possesses an instinctual, intuitive intelligence that allows him to make intellectual leaps as opposed to the logical methodical intelligence of his friend, Hermione. He can be brilliant when he puts forth the effort such as when he was training for the Tri-Wizard Tournament but lacks the intellectual drive or love of knowledge that his mother has."

Rukia sighed. "On the other hand, Severus Snape's comments weren't completely without truth. He is slightly cocky at times and is hot-tempered and impulsive. This is seen in the way he's rude to authority figures who disagree with his own beliefs. His lack of intellectual drive could be a result of the lack of confidence that he developed from growing up with the Dursleys though he is growing out of it. He also has a bit of an obsessive quality. He could be somewhat nosy and tends to get involved in things that do not concern him. He probably won't be content with our reasons for not getting more involved with the demons and I saw him get angrier at the idea that we were leaving people to their fate than at the fact that he was forcibly forced into what he calls "our war"."

Raphael snorted at that. "Like he wouldn't be affected if we lose. What is your conclusion then?"

Rukia took a deep breath before speaking. "In conclusion, if properly motivated he could be our most powerful asset since his potential is almost limitless and he inspires others. He would make a great teacher and I recommend giving him a student, preferably a human one in order to give him a reason to protect the Human World since he's basically lost the people still alive. It'll also keep him busy during his Earth assignments so he causes less trouble that way.

"However, you are right and he also has the highest risk of Falling out of the resurrected angels of this generation. Not due to lack of virtues or anything but for the same reason he'll become our most powerful asset…. "

Rukia looked at the sight of the mother and son walking toward the living room to talk with a neutral eye.

"… it's because he loves too fiercely and will never let an innocent suffer if he can help it."

* * *

**Ten years later**

It was raining heavily. Almost as if Heaven itself was weeping its loss. Of course, Harry James Potter, who was kneeling in wet mud outside of the house he once thought he would share with the girl he loved as they built a life together, knew that wasn't true. They had probably abandoned him by now.

Just like _she_ did.

Harry shivered as he remembered the disgust in her eyes when he revealed himself as a Fallen Angel.

_'You're a Fallen Angel! A monster! How can I love a monster?!'_

Harry's heart clenched at the memory of his beloved's words which cut deeper than any blade ever could. He loved her. He had given up _Heaven_ for her! He turned his back on everything he had; his parents, his friends, his King... all for _her_! She'd said she loved him. That she would love him forever.

Then why did she turn her back on him when he revealed himself as a Fallen? He Fell because of his love for _her_. Certainly that proved that he wasn't like other Fallen!?

Harry took a deep breath and released his anger like he had been taught, realizing it was useless. He couldn't hate her if he tried. He loved her... _still_ loved her. Even after hurting him so deeply, she was still the light of his life and the thought of her being hurt broke his heart.

Harry tried to blame someone, anything but realized he had no one to blame but himself. He consciously chose to Fall, thinking that he could have a happy life with her. He should have known better. Even when he was human, he knew he wasn't meant to be happy.

The sounds of footsteps brought him from his thoughts, their gait familiar and Harry lowered his eyes in shame, unwilling to see the disappointment in his King's eyes.

The man stopped in front of his kneeling form, as if waiting to administer judgement. The silence between the man and his former knight stretched on before the former broke it.

"Show me your wings, _angel_," commanded Raphael, an almost undetectable tremor in his voice betraying his pain.

However, Harry was too lost in his own self-castigations to hear it and simply obeyed, revealing where there were once twelve pure white wings were now twelve wings that were as black as midnight. The sign that he had Fallen.

Raphael's face tightened at the confirmation of his former subordinate's fall and a myriad of emotions crossed his face. He looked down on Harry, the angel known in Heaven as its greatest champion due to his acts over the last eight years. Closing his eyes briefly, Raphael summoned a sword of light in his hand.

Harry did nothing when felt Raphael summoning a light sword. After his love's rejection, he had lost the will to live. Plus, he had betrayed him. Betrayed his King. The man who had become a second father to him as well as his role model. The man he had tried to emulate only to fail and Fall.

All because of love.

Raphael looked down at his former knight's form, his heart clenching as he took in his resigned demeanor, almost as if he was hoping for death. This wasn't the man Raphael remembered. The man who would argue with him about doing what was right regardless of the consequences. It hurt Raphael more than he would admit to see this, his most loyal knight, so beaten.

Closing his eyes as his mind and heart raged against each other, Raphael grit his teeth and made his decision.

Harry waited for the blow to fall, almost eager to escape the pain of rejection. Even Oblivion would be better than this. Anything would be better than living with this pain.

Suddenly, Harry realized that Raphael had left, leaving him alive. Rather than be happy at the development, despair filled his being. At least dead he would have made up for his betraying his King. But alive? How could he ever make up for betraying the man who gave him his second chance at life and became a second father to him? How could he live with the pain of rejection by the one he loved?

Unable to cope with the magnitude of what had happened in the last 24 hours, Harry laid his head in the mud and wept.

* * *

**AN: And there's the prologue!**

**Now I just want to say that this story is being written mostly for me to try and regain my motivation for my other stories. Therefore, this is mainly a HP/Highschool DxD crossover but will have elements of other books and anime as well. However, this is set in the Highschool DxD world so while there will be a lot of familiar characters from other animes (like Rukia) they'll be changed to fit into that world and be different in personality due to this as well. I also don't have a perfect handle on certain characters personality so they might come across as slightly OC to die-hard fans.**

**Please do not bitch at me that so and so character isn't acting the way they should because I know. I just don't care. I mostly put those characters either for comedy purposes in some situations (Rukia's rabbit love and violent reactions) or because I didn't feel like creating an OC to fit the bill. I've taken so long to update any of my stories because I hate creating OCs so I'm not even gonna try in this fic. As I said, this fic is mostly for fun so there's no need to give myself a headache trying to please everyone.**

**Also, this story is going to be more light-hearted than my previous stories. There will be a lot of serious issues and undertones but there will also be a lot of plain out hilarious moments and stuff just for shit and giggles.**

**It's Highschool DxD so it will obviously be a harem. I mean seriously, Issei says it best in that entire Evil Piece system is basically pre-made for someone to get a harem. Lol. The harem will be a mix of characters from different anime since once I started adding characters from other anime I couldn't help but pair a few of my fav girls to Harry.**

**And no, there will be no Marvel or DC girls or elements in the story.**

**As always, Read and Review!**


	2. Life as a Demon Hunter

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer:**** All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Quick AN: I'm having trouble uploading my stories in hpfanficarchive. Does anyone know an alternative site other than adultfanfiction for me to upload my lemons at the very least? Please send me a PM if you do.**

* * *

**Somewhere in the Middle East**

**4:00am, June 2009 (One year since Fall)**

The sound of gunfire echoed through the large town followed by the sound of the screams of the dying. The sounds of groans and _something_ feeding could also be heard even as explosions occurred from time to time in the northern side of the town.

In an alley, a man was running from whatever was chasing him as behind him the sound of groaning could be heard getting closer. The man continued running, fear giving him speed as he ran without thought of where he was going. This proved to be his undoing since he came to a stop when he saw a large group of creatures blocking his way.

Standing there groaning were what used to be people but now were something much worse. Resembling zombies with their ragged clothing and obviously mangled appearances, the only thing differentiating them from stereotypical zombies were the fangs in their mouths.

The man gave a yell of terror as he backtracked, shooting any undead that got too close. He tried to escape the approaching horde through another path only to find his way blocked again and again. Eventually, he reached a dead end and could only cower as the horde approached. As the first creature reached him, he let loose an echoing scream.

In the northern part of town, a large horde of the undead wandered aimlessly as they searched for more prey. Suddenly, they were engulfed in a large explosion, killing them and leaving not even ashes behind. From the ashes of the explosion, a man appeared carrying a large glowing sword in one hand and a customized Desert Eagle in the other. He stood out not only because he was obviously not one of those creatures but also because he was seemingly unbothered by the carnage around him.

The man was wearing a red shirt with black pants and steel-toed black boots. Over that was a black cloak with a ragged bottom and a hood covering the man's face from view. He was well built with broad shoulders and relatively tall at 6 feet tall. He seemed even taller as he stood over the carnage, the fire silhouetting his form.

A surviving zombie vampire stood from the corpses of its brethren and tried to attack the man from behind only to get a headshot for its trouble from the barely attentive man. He gave a cursory glance around him to make sure there were no others before pressing a hand to his ear, activating a radio he was wearing that looked aesthetically similar to a Bluetooth headset.

"Saeko, what's the status of the survivors?"

Near the center of town stood a large tower that was used as a church before the infestation. It really showed people's priorities where they built a large bell tower made of metal for religion but lived in little more than huts made of hardened sand and stone. A large horde of undead were banging against the closed tower doors fruitlessly, the slight glow from the doors showing they were closed magically and no amount of force would open them.

As one went up the tower, one could see the corpses of both undead and still living humans at the time of their deaths. All of them looked as if they killed by some kind of blade, either by beheading or some other, equally lethal slash.

At the top of the tower was an attractive purple-haired girl no older than 18 lying on the floor looking through the scope of a Walther WA2000 sniper rifle. There was a sheathed katana at her hip and another naked and bloody one lying within arm's reach showing that she had been the one to kill all the occupants of the tower, undead and living alike, as well as the one who magically locked the tower doors.

The sniper rifle was obviously customized since it didn't have the standard Smith & Bender sighting device, but rather a pair of extra-large optic devices as a special scope mount fixed in parallel above the barrel and on the left flank. The two optic devices were a night-vision scope and an IR heat detector scope, perfect for hunting undead and differentiating them from living survivors.

The woman paused when her headset activated, her boss's voice coming through.

"_**Saeko, what's the status of the survivors?"**_

The now named Saeko grimaced slightly but answered honestly. "We were wrong. The tower was only halfway infested when I got here so that means it didn't originate from here. I'm in the bell tower so I have a perfect view of the entire town."

Saeko's view in the sniper scope showed hundreds of infested running around, causing damage everywhere but no heat signatures showing a living person.

"There are no survivors except us anymore."

Back with the man, he sighed heavily at the news, cursing under his breath. If they had only been here an hour or two earlier they could have saved at least saved a good number of people. Now it seems that the only thing left to do was make sure the one that started this didn't escape to infest another town and then clean up all the evidence of what happened here.

"_**I'm sorry, Harry."**_

The Fallen angel just shook his head grimly. "Don't worry about it. Use your position to try and find the source. He couldn't have left without us noticing so he must still be here. We can't let him survive and escape to do this again."

"_**Understood."**_

Harry absently shot an approaching undead as he thought about what brought him here.

Ever since his Fall, he had been traveling from place to place, battlefield to battlefield, hunting down demons and Stray Devils alike. Even if he had Fallen, he still wanted to help people and he dedicated himself to doing just that. Unfortunately, he didn't have the same information network he had as an angel, which allowed him to get to places before they became unsalvageable. This meant he usually got there only after half the population was dead or too late to save anyone like today.

His current prey was a demonic vampire that had decided to try and create an army of undead from the population of the town. While the neophyte zombie vamps, or "The Dead" as they were technically called, weren't dangerous to anything but a Low-class Devil, they made up for it with their rate of infection. An example was this very town. The town had turned from a bustling busy center of around 50,000 people to a large army of Dead in two hours, maybe less. While angels, both Fallen or not, and Devils were immune, humans and other creatures were not and if left unchecked, the demonic vampire that was the source of this plague could infect half the Middle East before he was stopped.

There was a difference between a normal vampire and a demonic one. A normal vampire was more similar to the ones found in storybooks with their weakness to garlic and crosses and holy water. They had similar abilities as well and could only turn someone by sucking their blood and then having the still barely alive human suck their blood. The change would then take several hours to occur during which the body tried to reject the change.

Demonic vampires were different.

Demonic vampires were created whenever some idiot vampire got cocky and tried to summon a demon to control for whatever reason. Most of the time, they failed the summoning ritual and nothing happened. However, sometimes they succeeded in summoning the demon but failed in controlling it. The demon spirit (since they were just spirits without a body to possess) would then try and possess the vampire who summoned it. Most of the time they succeeded and the result was what was known as a demonic vampire.

Demonic vampires infected with a simple bite and the change happened within minutes. There was no way to fight the change once you were bitten unless you were immune and the resulting Dead had a single purpose.

To feed.

As one could imagine, this created the current situation; entire towns and cities converted overnight into a horde of ravenous Dead.

The demonic vampire also had none of the weaknesses common vampires had beyond a slight aversion to sunlight and a weakness to fire. Since the demon was older than Christianity itself, crosses and holy water did nothing and crossing water was no longer a problem. They could heal almost instantaneously so the only way to destroy them was by destroying their body completely or exorcising the demon which killed the host.

While dealing with the horde was simple, simply burning them, killing the demonic vampire source was the goal. The Dead would fall like puppets with their strings cut without the demonic vampire controlling them and it would prevent him from escaping and infecting another town.

Harry opened his wings, once pure white and now pitch black, and flew up into the clouds, no longer needing to hold back with all the survivors now dead. Harry spread his twelve wings wide as he prepared his attack.

First one spear of light appeared hovering near him. Then another. Then two more. Then four more until slowly the entire sky was lit up with thousands of spears of light, all pointing down at the now dead town.

"Go to hell," said Harry darkly as he snapped his fingers.

With that, the spears fell like the judgment of an angry God onto the town below. Everywhere the spears landed, an explosion of holy fire engulfed the area, completely destroying all the Dead as well as most of the buildings. There was no escape as the spears kept falling, a new one being created and telekinetically thrown every time one landed.

Five minutes of this assault and Harry stopped to view the results of his attack.

The town was now a complete ruin, the only untouched building being the bell tower at the center of town. The rest had been completely leveled, the only buildings still standing had entire sections of them blown out from his attacks, making them useless as a dwelling.

Harry continued to hover over the town and activated his headset to call Saeko. "Did the source appear?"

"_**Negative. It didn't show up once during your attack. Maybe you got it during your attack?"**_

Harry caught sight of movement below and scowled when he saw it was some Dead still walking around searching for food. "No, I still see some Dead moving around. If he was dead, they'd have died with him. He's still alive."

"_**Then where is he?"**_

Harry hovered down till he could see the entire town, scowling as he wondered where the target could be.

He couldn't have escaped; Harry could still sense him in the area. The nearest town was over a hundred miles away which made the idea of traveling there so close to sunrise impossible. The sunlight weakened him too much for him to successfully hide his vampiric traits when he reached the next town.

Suddenly, Harry froze when he realized something. The demonic vampire's presence filled the entire town equally. This should be impossible since the being's presence should be stronger where he was located. The only way his presence throughout the entire town was…

Turning to the bell tower that stood in the center of town, Harry's eyes widened when he saw something move behind where Saeko was lying.

"Saeko, get out of there!"

Back with Saeko, she was cursing as she searched the town for the demonic vampire. It didn't make sense. That attack from Harry should have drawn the bastard out no matter where he hid. He would have to move to avoid being killed and he was obviously alive as proven by the Dead still battering on the tower doors.

Saeko froze as her mind went on overdrive. Why were only half the tower's occupants turned? It didn't make sense considering that taking over the largest building in the town that also happened to be in the center gave the demonic vampire a distinct advantage. It allowed him to spread his influence out evenly to the town as a whole instead of starting in one corner of the town.

Furthermore, she'd noticed a distinctly large number of living priests closer to the base of the tower than the top. At first, she thought it was because they were trying to bar the doors and stop anyone from entering. But considering the doors had been unlocked when she arrived, that didn't seem to be the case. Furthermore, the Dead didn't start battering the door until _after _she'd infiltrated the tower and started killing everything inside. So why were there more priests near the base of the tower than the top?

In fact, there had been more Dead the higher up the tower she went. It should be the other way around, shouldn't it?

Saeko thought back to her cleansing of the tower. The living humans hadn't seemed panicked. In fact, they'd almost seemed… happy. Also the Dead hadn't tried to attack the priests for some reason and both living and undead had turned on her the moment she entered.

Almost as if they were working together…..

Suddenly, Saeko's danger senses went haywire.

"_**Saeko, get out of there!"**_

In one smooth motion, Saeko grabbed her bloody katana lying next to her with her right hand and launched herself forward off the floor while spinning around. As she spun, the blade cut the air and sliced off the hand of the demonic vampire that had been sneaking up on her. At the same time, her left hand had pulled the pistol on her left thigh out and after cutting off the demonic vampire's hand, she shot him in the face from point-blank range, getting a roar of rage from the creature.

Time sped up again and Saeko was now falling off the bell tower, the ground rushing up to meet her as well as certain death if she landed, either from the fall or the Dead waiting for feed on her injured body. However, her fall was cut short when she felt a familiar pair of arms catch her, stopping her fall and giving her a glimpse of what it felt to fly.

"Got you," said Harry in relief before turning serious. "Now blow it, Saeko."

Nodding, Saeko holstered her pistol. She then reached into her back pocket and pulled out a detonator she had hidden there. Pressing it activated the C4 she'd placed in the bell tower top floor where she had been, blowing that entire section to kingdom come. The explosion was spectacular and lit up the entire town. Unfortunately, the roar that followed the explosion showed that it had done little to the demonic vampire except anger it.

"He's revealed himself so your job is done," said Harry firmly. "I'm going to drop you off at the town borders. Make your way back to base and I'll meet you there after I'm done."

"Understood," said Saeko without a change in expression. There was no need to wish him good luck or insist on her staying. Harry could easily kill the demonic vampire by himself and she'd only be in the way if she stayed.

Harry quickly reached the jeep they'd use to reach the town at the town borders and dropped Saeko off there. He watched as she quickly got in the car and drove across the desert toward their rendezvous point. Now sure that she was safe, Harry turned back around to finish off the demonic vampire once and for all.

He didn't have to search for him for long as it seemed the demonic vampire wanted to face him just as much as he did. Harry landed in a relatively large area clear of rubble where it seemed both had decided to end this. The demonic vampire appeared soon enough, jumping over some rubble and landing in the middle of area Harry had chosen for the fight.

The demonic vampire was relatively tall at 5'11" with black hair and black eyes without a sclera that showed his demonic possession. His fangs were out and jutting over his lower lip as he smiled evilly at him even as the skin on his face healed back to pristine perfection.

"**That was a stupid move, Fallen," **said the demonic vampire gruffly. **"Sending your back-up away like that. Maybe together you could have scratched me but alone you don't stand a chance against the mighty Sorel!"**

Harry simply looked at him in boredom and cracked his neck absently. "Are we going to talk or are we going to fight cause I'm getting bored?"

The demonic vampire known as Sorel roared in rage at his words and rushed at Harry, intent on impaling him with his bare hands.

Harry dodged the first punch by jumping backwards and he was glad he dodged instead of blocked when he saw the results. Where Sorel hit the ground, everything exploded as if it had been hit by a rocket. The only difference was that the explosion was directed downwards instead of exploding in all directions.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the sight. "That's new."

Sorel laughed at the look on Harry's face. **"Do you see now, little crow? You don't stand a chance against me thanks to my artificial Sacred Gear Variant Detonation! All it takes is a single punch and I'll blow you to pieces! I won't leave enough for anyone to even identify! Hahahahahaha!"**

Harry just gave the demonic vampire a bored look. "It certainly is interesting. However….."

Suddenly, Harry appeared on the demonic vampire's other side, a glowing broadsword in his right hand.

"….. it isn't enough to save you," finished Harry simply.

The demonic vampire screamed as his arms and legs fell off his body, the Holy energy in the sword cauterizing the wounds and making sure it couldn't be healed easily if at all. Sorel yelled curses at Harry who calmly walked up to the demon with an annoyed look on his face.

"**You bastard! You motherfucking bastard!"**

"I'll have you know that my parents were happily married when they had me," said Harry simply before his eyes hardened. "Now be a pal and die, won't you?"

Harry then placed his hand on the demon's head and used his angelic powers to kill the demon's spirit. If he just killed the body, the demon's spirit would just return to Purgatory. Only an angel or another divine being could permanently kill a demon by purifying it similar to an exorcism.

The demon's eyes glowed white, showing Harry had been successful in killing it, before it fell back, coal-like lumps sitting where his red eyes once were. Harry sighed when he felt the Dead all around the town fall over like puppets with their strings cut. With their creator dead before they could be possessed by a demon, nothing held them to the world.

His job done, Harry flew up into the clouds once more to finish the job. There was a flash of light before the entire town was engulfed in an inferno, leaving no trace of what happened behind.

* * *

**Middle East base, Somewhere in the Middle East**

**9:00am, June 2009**

Saeko slowly drove the jeep down a hidden path that led to their base here in the Middle East. They had one per region as a fallback point for difficult jobs. This last one was difficult not because of the demonic vampire's power but because of how hard he was to find. Instead of rampaging the moment he possessed the vampire's body, he had been smart and fled before anyone found out. It wasn't until he reached the Middle East and bumped into one of their contacts that they knew of the possession. If he hadn't done that then they would have never known.

Saeko stopped the car in front of a large hill aesthetically similar to all the other hills around the area. She pressed a button on the jeep's console and waited. Suddenly, a garage door opened straight out of the previously thought to be a rock hill, allowing her to drive inside and park the jeep, the garage door closing seamlessly behind her and leaving no sign of there ever having been a door there.

Saeko got out of the car and walked toward the living room where the lights were on. She entered the living room to see the other two members of their team sitting down eating popcorn while watching a movie.

One of the two was a young Canadian boy around 13 years old codenamed Network for his genius-level intellect when it came to anything electronic or mechanical in nature. He had light brown hair and blue eyes and was dressed in his usual outfit of a blue jumpsuit that looked like it belonged on a mechanic. It wasn't far from the truth since he was the team's tech support and was tasked both with fixing their vehicles and upgrading their weapons and gadgets.

Network had joined their group about two months ago when he literally tracked them down in order to join. Apparently, he somehow found out what they did and wanted to help. He said he found it more fulfilling helping them than simply being stuck in a lab all day creating new inventions or weapons for the highest bidder. They didn't trust him at first but he eventually proved himself and was now a trusted member of the team.

The other girl was a girl around 14-15 years of age with long blonde hair and green eyes. Her hair flowed all the way down to her back, with split bangs over her forehead and a single strand sticking out from the top, sloping backwards. She was currently dressed in her usual outfit which consisted of a dark teal nun outfit with light blue accents, a white veil over her head with light blue accents, a brown satchel slung on her right hip to hold her Bible, and brown boots with black straps in an X-shaped pattern. She also wore a silver cross necklace around her neck.

This was Asia Argento, the former 'Holy Maiden' of the Church before she was banished for accidentally healing a Devil. Their leader, Harry, had found her not two weeks ago when she was being chased out of town and took her in. Officially, she was their group's healer though in reality she was more of their ward since they protected her from anyone who would want to take advantage of her. The girl was sometimes too naïve for her own good.

Asia held the Sacred Gear Twilight Healing, which let the user heal anyone and anything regardless of species or affiliation. Since it could heal Fallen Angels and Devils as well as the wielder themselves, it was a valuable tool for any of the Three Factions. For now, no one had come after her but Saeko knew it was only a matter of time.

Regardless, they wouldn't turn her away. The group was made up of people who knew what it felt to be rejected by society for something outside your control: Harry for being Fallen Angel and still wanting to help people, Saeko due to her swords, Network due to his intellect and Asia due to her naivety. Just like Network couldn't control his being smarter than most people, Asia had no fault in her supposed 'fall from grace' beyond not knowing the man she healed was a Devil. All she did was be kind to a stranger and she was run out of town as a heretic.

It was for reasons like that that Saeko didn't believe in God or rather felt utter disdain for him. How could she pray to a being who punishes his faithful for the slightest infraction? A being who doesn't even answer the prayers of those who aren't strictly Christian? Certainly no one answered hers when she needed it. No, it had been a Harry who later became a Fallen Angel who answered her prayers and Saved her and for that she would follow him to very pits of Purgatory.

Asia realized Saeko was standing there and smiled kindly. "Saeko-neechan! Did your mission go well?"

Saeko smiled at Asia's words. Truly, God must be blind to toss away such a bright light from his Church. "It went well, Asia, thank you for asking," said Saeko with a smile. "The demon is dead and that's one less demon to worry about."

Asia smiled happily and clasped her hand in prayer. "Thank God! He truly must be watching over you and smiling at your good work."

Saeko's smile became slightly fixed at her words but she shook them off. Asia was basically raised by the Church so she wouldn't lose her faith overnight if ever. Plus, there was nothing wrong with it and Harry said to let it be. At times it was almost humbling how she still believed in God despite all she went through. The girl must have been so lonely and sad even while doing God's work yet she still believed and prayed to him daily. Saeko sometimes wished she ahd half her belief and faith. It would certainly make her feel better about the future.

"Probably," said Saeko agreeably. Her smile turned teasing as she slyly looked from Asia to Network. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting your date?"

Both Network and Asia looked at each other and looked away with a blush on their cheeks at Saeko's teasing. Being the youngest of the group and the newest respectively, they were objects of much teasing from the two older members, mostly centered on their so-called 'relationship'. As far as Saeko knew, neither had any kind of romantic feelings for the other but it always amused her to hint at it due to the reaction she got from them.

True enough, Network instantly tried to defend himself against her accusation. "It's not a _date_, Saeko. We're just watching 'A Princess Bride' because Asia has never seen it. Not seeing such a classic should be considered a crime against nature."

Saeko just smiled wider. "Cuddling up together and watching a romantic comedy? Sounds like a date to me."

Asia just blushed harder as she frantically waved her hands around in denial. "No, really Saeko-nee! Net-kun was just being nice and showing me stuff. Honest!"

Saeko just chuckled at the looks on their faces and let up on the teasing. "I'm just kidding, take it easy. Has Harry arrived yet?"

Asia perked up at Harry's name and smiled up at her. "Yeah! Harry-niichan got here a while ago and he's been in his room ever since. I think he's worried about something."

Saeko's face got serious at her words and she looked at Harry's closed door. "Really? Well, I'll go talk to him to see what's wrong then. Just a bit of a warning, if the door is locked, don't interrupt unless its an emergency. I'll talk to you guys later."

With that, Saeko walked over to Harry's room after dropping off her stuff in her own room and changing into a pair of short shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt that barely held back her large bust. Knocking and receiving permission to enter, Saeko entered Harry's room where she found said man looking over a world map.

The map showed various important locations across the world. There were little red pins marking the location of the Demon Gates, literal doors between Earth and Purgatory where demons can cross over. Unlike Devils who can come and go from the Underworld as they pleased, demons had been locked away in Purgatory before Lucifer's Fall. However, when Lucifer Fell, he needed demon's blood to become the first Devil and so created the Demon Gates where demons could cross over to Earth. According to Harry, Heaven didn't close the Gates since humans needed something to tempt them to evil in order to prove their 'goodness'. They called it the Balance.

Saeko called it hypocritical bullshit.

The map also had several blue pins showing safe areas where they could retreat to just in case as well as yellow ones showing areas to avoid at all costs. Saeko's eyes rested on a yellow pin over a certain town in Japan before she concentrated on what Harry was doing.

Usually, after they finished a mission, they'd collect all their notes on the mission and place them inside the mission's case file for future reference. The case files would be safeguarded in the fallback base of that area but could be remotely accessed from any base thanks to a nifty spell Harry placed on them. So far they had finished over 20 missions in the past six months since Saeko joined Harry though there were many more case files from missions Harry did while still an angel. Saeko sometimes read them to get a better insight into her boss's mind.

However, Harry wasn't finishing up the case file of their previous mission but actually had it open and was placing purple pins in certain places as he read. Curious about what it could mean, Saeko walked over to check over the map and frowned. "Why are you tracking that demon's previous movements? Did it escape?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's dead but it revealed something before it died."

Saeko cocked an eyebrow. "What did it reveal?"

"A Sacred Gear," said Harry simply.

Saeko's mind worked a mile a minute at Harry's words, quickly realizing the ramifications of that revelation. "The vampire he was possessing…. It was a pure-blood wasn't it?"

"Yep," said Harry, not looking up from his work. "Born the pure-blood son of two vampires, both of which had been purebloods themselves for over 5 generations. Sacred Gears appear only in humans or at very least, half-humans. There was no way that bloodsucker would have had one. Furthermore, as far as we know there's only one vampire with a Sacred Gear amongst the vampire clans and it wasn't him."

"And to top things off," said Harry grimly. "Our research indicates that Sacred Gears are bonded to a person's soul, not their body. So even if the vampire had one it would have disappeared when the demon consumed his soul. Its why Sacred Gear holders die when their Sacred Gear is removed."

"Which means…" said Saeko slowly.

"…. That the demon must have received the Sacred Gear after he possessed the vampire," finished Harry grimly. "This means somehow, someway the demons have found a way to either give themselves Sacred Gears or create artificial ones."

Saeko frowned at the implications of demons running around with Sacred Gears. It was a chilling thought. "So you're tracking his movements to see somewhere he might have stopped to receive it?"

Harry nodded. "It must have happened in the time between him possessing the vampire and appearing again here in the Middle East. Hell, the fact he was in the Middle East in the first place is subject. While the demon might not have all the weakness the vampire host does, sunlight is still uncomfortable for them. Why travel through a desert of all things?"

Saeko looked over the map as she saw where Harry had pinned purple pins. "Probably to get his Sacred Gear. Who would look for a demon factory in the Middle East? Weapons factories and hidden bases are so common here that they might as well be considered part of the natural wildlife."

"Exactly, which is why if I can find where he stayed for longer than a day I might figure out where he received his Sacred Gear," said Harry firmly as he continued to work.

Saeko looked at Harry and saw the bags under his eyes, showing he hadn't slept in a while, probably since they got the mission. She knew from experience that once he got his mind stuck on something he ignored everything else in order to accomplish it. While as a Fallen Angel he might not _need_ to sleep or eat, it certainly helped. By now, Harry had gone a week without sleeping and only eating when absolutely necessary to maintain his focus.

Saeko quietly walked to the door and locked it so they wouldn't be disturbed. All the walls were sound-proofed so she wouldn't have to worry about being overheard. That done, Saeko walked over behind Harry and started to massage his back.

"You need to relax, Harry," said Saeko lowly as she slowly massaged the stress from his shoulders. "You won't be able to think straight if you don't get some rest and de-stress. Come on."

Harry resisted half-heartedly as Saeko led him over to the bed and forced him to sit down on the edge before sitting behind him. With her legs on either side of him, Saeko continued to massage the tension out of Harry's shoulders. Slowly, she took off his shirt to better massage him which he didn't fight against. Her view now unimpeded, Saeko admired Harry's body as she massaged him.

Years of hard physical combat and battles had turned his body into a literal machine of hard muscle and strength. Even as she massaged his shoulders, Saeko could feel the strength in his muscles that had enough power in them to punch straight through a dozen steel doors if he so wished. Of course, he rarely used such strength and subconsciously limited himself or else he'd be unable to do anything without breaking everything around him by mistake.

Saeko absently massaged the various tattoos he had on his back. In the middle of his back were the two angel wings tattoos that represented his wings when he had them hidden. From the untrained eye they looked like just any tattoo but Saeko could see that they had a depth and realism that no tattoo artist could impart to a two-dimensional picture.

He also had an anti-possession sigil on his left shoulder for demons and other spirits. While as an angel he probably couldn't get possessed, he didn't want to take the chance. Everyone in the group had one either tattooed on or had a necklace with the sigil. On his upper right bicep, he had a series of Enochian sigils that prevented him from being found remotely by either Hell or Heaven's forces. This was another thing everyone in the group had except that they had them inscribed on their ribs by Harry himself.

Saeko continued to softly massage Harry as little by little the tension bled out of him. Once she saw he was suitably relaxed, she gently laid a kiss on the back of his neck. She smiled when he didn't tense up or reject her in any way and continued to lay kisses along his back, getting small moans from him every time her lips touched his skin.

Slowly, Saeko twisted around his body until she was straddling him and she gave him a scorching kiss right on the lips which he enthusiastically returned. The two kissed for a few minutes during which Harry had taken Saeko's shirt off and was suckling on her right teat, much to her delight. As he suckled on it, Saeko lowered her hands and helped him out of his pants. Once that was done, Saeko reached down and released his cock to the morning air.

The feel of cold air on his heated cock seemed to snap Harry out of his lustful daze since he instantly stopped. Gently, he grabbed Saeko's wrists to stop her progress. "Saeko… we shouldn't do this."

Saeko's face was serene as she looked at him. "I'm just helping my boss relax and de-stress, nothing more. Plus, it isn't like this is our first time."

Harry grimaced at her words. It was true, after all. Harry and Saeko's relationship had turned physical around two months after they started working together. Harry had tried to resist Saeko afterwards, saying he didn't want a serious relationship at the moment since he still hadn't gotten over his ex. She told him she understood and wasn't looking for a relationship, just sex.

Despite this, Harry always felt like he was using her whenever they had sex. Like he was giving her expectations he couldn't accomplish and so resisted her whenever possible. It didn't always work since Saeko was a very beautiful, smart and driven girl (all things that attracted him) and when she wanted something she went after it with a single-mindedness that was actually sort of humbling. It didn't help that after six months working together, four of which involved them having a physical relationship, she already knew just how to press his buttons and when to strike. Like now, she knew that in his current tired and stressed state, as well as not having had sex since Asia joined two weeks ago, he wouldn't resist too much.

"True but-"

"Then there's nothing wrong with this, is there?" interrupted Saeko smoothly as she broke his admittedly weak hold on her wrists and continued to rub his cock.

Harry groaned and looked toward the door. "Asia and Network coul-"

"I locked the door," said Saeko quietly. "They won't interrupt us. Plus, Network already knows not to interrupt us when we lock the door."

Harry blushed slightly at that and grimaced as he looked into Saeko's eyes. "I'm still not ready. I'm still not over my ex so I can't give you a serious relationship."

"I never asked you too," said Saeko just as quietly.

"Maybe. But you deserve that. You deserve to have a man who will treat you like a Queen, not a messed-up bastard like me," said Harry bitterly.

Saeko kissed him fiercely to stop his self-recriminations and slowly got off him. "You're right, I do. I deserve a man who will love me regardless of anything and will stand by my side through everything." Saeko slowly undid her shorts and pushed them down her toned legs, making sure that Harry got an eyeful of all of her. "But for now... I only want you."

Standing in front of him, Harry took in the full sight of her beauty. Saeko had long, straight and shiny purple hair along with a triangular fringe at the front that barely touched the ridge of her nose. She had deep blue eyes and large breasts, about D-cup in size, which were large without being _too_ large like some girls. For a Japanese girl, she was also quite tall and he knew that her relatively long limbs gave leverage to her powerful sword swings. Her legs were long and creamy, not a mark on her which, given their occupation, said something about her incredible skill. Even without a good view, Harry knew that Saeko's ass was perfectly shaped and was the perfect mix between soft and firm.

All in all, she was a goddess given form.

Smirking to herself as Harry took in her form, Saeko once again straddled him before impaling herself on his erection, moaning out her joy at the feeling before kissing him fiercely. No longer capable of mustering the will to fight her off, Harry returned the kiss before twisting them around till he was lying over her on the bed and started to thrust down into her.

As Saeko lost herself to the pleasure, her last thoughts were very different from what she said. _'I love you, Harry Potter, and I'll happily wait until you heal from what that woman did. Even it means waiting forever.'_

* * *

**Middle East base, Somewhere in the Middle East**

**The next day, One year since Fall**

Harry woke up to the feel of sunlight coming in through the window. Blinking his eyes blearily, Harry reached out for Saeko only to feel a warm empty space where she had been sleeping. Smelling the smell of cooked bacon and eggs, Harry realized she must have gotten up to cook breakfast. Sighing at that realization, Harry laid back as he thought about his and Saeko's relationship.

To say it was complicated was an understatement. Saeko had been one of the many children he'd saved during his and his former comrades campaign to liberate Drasuvania from demonic control. He'd run into her around six months after his Fall and she'd become his partner on his missions to hunt demons. After six months without close human contact, she'd been a welcome addition to his, until then, solitary lifestyle.

The first time they'd had sex had been a mistake. Harry had been tired from a long mission and moping over his ex when she offered to give him a massage to relax him much like she did last night. One thing led to another and before he knew it, he was thrusting into Saeko's willing body as they fucked the night away.

The next morning, Harry had been guilt-ridden thinking he had taken advantage of Saeko since he had no plans on starting a relationship with her. He explained this to her and she simply told him she understood and would be there to help him get over his ex's actions. She said that as his partner it was her job to make sure he was always at the top of his game and if he was stressed, he couldn't do his job properly. Therefore, if relaxing him meant having sex then she was not against it.

Since then they had had sex many more times, each time more intense and emotional than the last. As much as he tried not to, he felt himself start to have feelings for Saeko and she meant more to him now than just a mere partner for their jobs. Harry could see himself falling for her if he let himself.

The problem was that the specter of his ex-girlfriend still hung between them. Both because he was afraid of his relationship with Saeko ending similarly and because he was still in love with her. He didn't think it was fair to start a relationship with Saeko as long as he still wasn't over his ex. The fact that they still had sex regularly also added to the awkwardness of it.

Pushing the thoughts of his and Saeko's relationship out of his head, Harry got up and started to get dressed for the day. As soon as he finished getting dressed, he walked over to the world map table and saw it had been cleaned up and organized with a purple pin in every location their intel had told them Sorel had passed or stopped at. All was left to do was corroborate the timeline and flight schedules to know how long he lasted in each city. The one with the unusual amount of time stayed in would be where he got his Sacred Gear.

At least in theory. It was completely possible that it took no more than a second to get his Sacred Gear but Harry hoped not or else they'd never track the source of these artificial Sacred Gears down.

Harry saw that under each pin was a sticky pad note with a presumed date in which Sorel had been there. The note were in Saeko's hand showing her as the source. She must have gotten up early and finished up Sorel's path on the world map and even put the dates there to help Network create the timeline.

_'I definitely don't deserve a girl like Saeko,'_ thought Harry sadly. Despite him basically using her for sex she was still the perfect partner on the field, knew him well enough to know when he was stressed and, if his nose wasn't lying, even cooked breakfast for the entire team. Any guy would be lucky to have her.

So why was he hesitating in starting a relationship with her?

Once more pushing away such thoughts, Harry walked out of his room and into the dining room where the team was sitting waiting for him to have breakfast.

"Good morning, Harry-niichan," chirped Asia happily. "You must have been really tired yesterday. You and Saeko slept the whole day away! Promise me you won't go another week without sleeping and you'll let Saeko take care of you."

Beside her, Network had to stop himself from laughing at the look on Harry's face. Asia was the only one who didn't know that Saeko and Harry hadn't been _sleeping_ at all yesterday. When she'd asked Saeko, she'd simply said that they had been tired from the mission due to not sleeping all week and went to sleep early. Innocent Asia bought it and never questioned why Saeko had such a satisfied smile on her face or why Saeko hadn't slept in her own room.

Harry nervously chuckled at Asia's words and tried to ignore the look in Saeko's eyes when Asia said to let her take care of him. "Yeah, I'll do that. Why haven't you guys eaten yet?"

Network smirked. "Saeko insisted we wait for you to wake up before eating. She said it's only right to wait for the head of the family before eating." Network's face took on a sly look. "If you ask me it's almost as if she's your wife. Ow!"

Saeko brandished the ladle she'd used to hit Network and smiled cheerily. "Now, now, no need to spread false rumors or else you'll go without breakfast."

Network gave her a cautious look before settling down in his chair, grumbling all the while. Asia simply giggled at the, by now, familiar interaction between Saeko and Network, amused by the familiar bond between the two.

Harry sat down at the head of the table and Saeko quickly placed his breakfast in front of him, earning a smile from the man. "Thanks, Saeko. I'm famished." He looked at Asia who was squirming slightly in her seat and his smile widened. "Asia? Why don't you say grace?"

Asia blinked at his words and blushed. "Ah? M-me?! Um… okay, then." Clasping her hands in prayer, the other three followed suit despite none of them being Christian. "Oh, God, Most Holy Father, bless this meal and thank you for the gift of food we are about to receive. Amen."

"Amen," chorused the other three people at the table before digging in.

The conversation was mostly kept light-hearted as they talked about little things. Mostly they talked about Asia's occasional outings to the nearest poor village and healing all the sick there. While she had been lonely in the Church, she had always loved helping people and so wanted to continue that. Harry agreed and every two days, unless on a mission, would send her along with either him or Saeko to a particularly sick village where Asia would heal all the sick.

Asia loved it because she felt she was doing some good and it was also a good way to relax for the older members. All they had to do was watch over Asia as she worked and the most trouble they ever got was if the people waiting for their turn got anxious. If that happened a slight 'chastisement' was all that was needed to put them back into line and wait.

Harry noticed that Asia was smiling happily and looking at the with a wide smile and spoke. "What has you so happy, Asia?"

Asia blushed at being caught but eventually explained. "I'm sorry, Harry-niichan. It's just that… it feels like we're a family; with you and Saeko as the parents/older siblings and Network and me as the children/younger siblings. I'm happy because I'm not lonely anymore."

Harry and Saeko smiled gently at the girl's words while Network playfully complained about him not being _that_ young. Asia tried to comfort Network as the latter pretended to be hurt by Asia's words until Saeko smacked him with a ladle once more.

As Harry sat back and watched the interaction, he found himself agreeing with Asia's words. In all the ways that mattered, they _were_ a family. Of course, they were a dysfunctional family with one Fallen Angel, one former Holy Maiden, a girl with cursed swords and a child genius but a family nonetheless.

After they finished eating, Network went to construct the timeline of Sorel's movements with Asia who he was trying to teach about computers. It was a slow process given how sheltered Asia was but he was making steady progress.

This left Harry and Saeko alone to wash the dishes which they did with the ease of long practice. The silence was comfortable at first but slowly became more and more awkward as Harry tried to find some way to apologize for last night that didn't come across as insulting.

It wasn't like he regretted last night… while at the same time he did. He didn't regret _being_ with Saeko but he did regret that he couldn't return her feelings properly and instead of being his 'girlfriend', she was little more than his lover if not his mistress.

Which was weird since he wasn't even married.

Just as they finished drying the dishes and Harry was about to speak, Saeko spoke first. "It'll take a day or two for Network to create the timeline of Sorel's movements so we should take the time to relax and maybe train a little. Things have been slow on the demonic front ever since you and others retook Drasuvania all those years ago so there's no rush. We haven't exactly had a real break since… well, ever. So we should take advantage of the chance to relax and get to know Asia better. She's been with us for two weeks but today's the first day she's actually spent a significant amount of time with us."

Harry nodded at her words. "True. We have been on the go a lot these last two weeks so we haven't properly bonded with her. The fact that despite that she still considers us a family actually shows how kind she really is."

"Indeed," agreed Saeko easily. "Well, I'm going to check on our stock and the wards. Make sure they're working properly. You should go meditate until dinner. I was thinking of maybe all of us going to the movies or something. Go out like a real family."

Harry looked at her with emotion in his eyes. "Family, huh? If I'm the father that'll make you the mother, doesn't it?"

Saeko looked with a strangely hopeful look in her eyes. "Only if you want me to be." This was said in a tone barely above a whisper, almost making Harry have to strain his hearing to hear.

Nothing was said for a moment before Harry looked away. "I'm going to go meditate and practice my powers for a while. Once I'm done we can all go to the movies together."

A disappointed look crossed Saeko's face before she expertly masked it. "As you say, boss. If you'll excuse me."

Once Saeko left the kitchen, Harry groaned and placed his head against the cabinet in front of him. "You're a fucking coward, Potter. A goddamned coward! Just _move on_! Forget about _her_ and be with Saeko. Saeko loves you and she's a good woman. Why can't I just move on? Why is it so hard to forget about _her_?!"

No answer was forthcoming and frustrated, Harry left towards the training grounds, hoping to work out some steam.

* * *

**Two days later, Middle East base**

Harry was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the training basement beneath the base. Network still hadn't narrowed down the possible locations where Sorel received his Sacred Gear and Harry didn't want to take a new mission until they'd solved this mystery. This meant, much to Asia's joy, that they were going to be around all day until he did. It had given Harry time to really bond with the young nun, something which had eased his heart. It was for people like Asia that Harry fought against the evils of the world. To protect her innocence and make sure they didn't suffer as he did when he was human. Fallen or not, he wasn't about to stand aside and let demons run amuck. Devils were one thing, they simply made deals with willing humans and if the people agreed that there was nothing Harry could do about it. Plus, Devils no longer dealt in souls like before.

Demons, on the other hand, were little more than beasts. Physical manifestations of the primordial darkness in the world before the Gods gave birth to Light that had neither mercy, pity nor ability to reason. All they cared about was destruction and murder. At least the lesser ranked demons. The higher ranked ones were more dangerous due to their ability to manipulate and actually use their brains. Sorel had been a mid-level one. Capable of being smart enough to know not to draw attention to himself until he got his Sacred Gear but not enough to stop himself once he did.

The more Harry hunted demons, the more he was convinced that the best way to deal with them permanently was to find a way to close the Demon Gates forever. Screw the 'Balance' or whatever the hell Heaven wanted. People were _dying_ or worse having their very souls devoured by these monstrosities. Harry had little patience for such things.

Harry took a deep breath and summoned his primary sword, looking down at it with a critical eye.

The sword was quite unique with the shape of an ancient European broadsword with an aqua-colored blade and a golden hilt. The guard of the sword was shaped almost like angel wings and there was an aqua-colored gem in the very place where the guard met the hilt. The gem worked to store large amounts of Holy energy for when Harry was low and needed a boost.

This blade was El'druin, the Sword of Justice that once belonged to the Archangel of Justice, Tyrael before his death during the Great War. It had gone without a wielder for centuries afterwards since it wouldn't accept anyone. That is, until Harry came along. It was attracted to Harry's courage and strong sense of justice and chose him as its wielder.

Now, it was bound to Harry's very existence and even after Falling, it still would accept no other as its master.

Harry channeled Holy energy into the sword, making it glow brightly as the nature of the blade took the small amount of holy energy and tripled its potency. As the original Holy Sword from which all other Holy Swords were fashioned, it worked by tripling the amount of Holy energy the wielder placed into it to increase its destructive power as well as release a beam of light similar to how Excalbur and Caliburn could, only much more potent. It went without saying that its Holy Aura was strong enough to make even Satans cringe in its presence.

Harry cut off the flow of Holy energy before taking a deep breath and summoning another sword in his left hand.

When Harry was reincarnated as an angel, it hadn't taken him long to find out that he had access to an alternative energy source. It had similar properties to both light and darkness and could actually be called a sort of mixture of the two. Due to this, Harry could use the alternative power source even in areas where Holy energy is nullified or weakened such as the Underworld or even Purgatory. It was especially effective against entities such as reapers and Gods who would normally be immune or at least resistant to Holy and Darkness Energy.

However, due to its uniqueness, El'druin couldn't channel it due to being a pure Holy Sword. Therefore, Harry had created his own blade which could channel it.

The end result was a sword he called Dusk. It was a hand-and-a-half sword with a green jewel embedded at the base of the hilt. It had a pure silver blade and adornments while the hilt itself was black with silver cross where the guard met the hilt. Like previously stated, it could channel Harry's other energy source (which he creatively called 'Twilight energy') much like El'druin could Holy Energy.

Currently, Harry was practicing his control by channeling pure Holy Energy into El'druin and Twilight energy into Dusk. Since as far as he knew, Twilight energy was a mix of the Holy element and the Darkness element, it forced him to concentrate on sending only Holy energy into El'druin while simultaneously mix his Holy and Darkness element into Twilight Energy for Dusk.

Needless to say this was _very_ difficult but if he succeeded, it would allow him to use both swords in battle, doubling his effectiveness.

Harry channeled a small amount of Twilight Energy into Dusk, making it start to glow an orange color, while trying to maintain a steady flow of pure Holy energy to El'druin. Harry fought down the bubble of victory when he saw it work and, other than a few flickers from El'druin, both swords glowing white and orange.

Now for the really hard part.

Harry got up and started going through a series of katas, very slowly so he wouldn't lose his concentration. Harry had no need to rush things and he wanted to first be able to wield both swords and their abilities at once before he tried to master using two swords in combat. It wasn't the first time he'd used two swords in combat though the first time using these two particular swords at once. Usually he only used one or the other so it would take time to get used to their different weights.

Harry stopped when he saw the door open and Asia skip into the training room. She stopped when she saw him training and her eyes widened in awe at the sight of his glowing swords.

Smiling to himself at the look on her face, Harry beckoned her over and she moved toward him hesitantly. "Hello, Asia. Do you like my swords?"

Asia blushed and nodded as she looked at El'druin in awe. "Is that-? I mean… I think I recognize that sword but I'm not sure."

"If you're wondering if it's El'druin, the Sword of Justice, then yes, it is," said Harry with a small smile.

That caused Asia's eyes to widen even more as she looked at the sword with new appreciation in her eyes. "But that means… were you the Archangel of Justice before you Fell?"

Harry sighed as he de-summoned Dusk and gestured for Asia to sit on the floor. Harry followed suit and place El'druin over his lap. "Yes and no. The sword chose me because I had the _potential_ to take Tyrael's place as the new Archangel of Justice and Valor. I never actually took the position though since I Fell before I rose high enough in the angelic ranks to do so. Actually," Harry gave Asia a rueful smile. "The mission where I Fell was actually the last mission before my ascension to Archangel. I would have been the first Archangel not created by the God of the Bible."

Asia looked confused at his statement. "What do you mean? Aren't all angels created by God?"

Harry bit his lip as he thought about what to say. How could he tell her that the God of the Bible was dead? It would destroy the poor girl. No. Better to tell a half-truth.

"Well, you see," started Harry. "After the Great War against the Fallen and the Underworld, Heaven's forces were depleted due to the many angels that died. However, God saw that there were humans who were very good like you, Asia, and decided that when they died he would resurrect them as angels."

Asia's eyes widened at his words. "Really?! You mean that if I'm good God will resurrect me as an angel?"

Harry smiled at her innocent question, not even thinking about the fact that she would basically be conscripted into an army against her will. "Really, really. Only really good and pure people are resurrected as angels though so there aren't a lot of angels like me."

Asia seemed excited at his words. "So that means you were once a human like me?"

Harry smiled softly. "Yep. Once I was Harry James Potter, son of James Potter and Lily Potter. It was actually my mom who helped create the system to make humans into angels."

Asia gasped and looked at him in awe. "That's so wonderful! Your mom must have been so proud when you became an angel."

Harry winced at her words. He hadn't talked to his mom since his Fall and didn't know what she thought about it. Was she disappointed? Understanding? Angry? He didn't know and was afraid to find out.

"Yeah, she was," said Harry evenly, masking his turmoil.

Asia looked at Harry happily, not sensing his somber mood, before asking something. "But... how were you going to become an Archangel if you were once human?"

Harry sighed as he started to explain. "First you have to understand the hierarchy in Heaven. At the top of the food chain are the Seraphim. Right now there are ten Seraphs with four of them being known as the Four Great Seraph which I'll explain why later. Seraphs are charged with protecting the Throne of God and are the highest position besides Archangels. They represent God's love and always have twelve wings to represent their power. Next are the Cherubim. They are the intercessors, I guess. You have to get through them to reach the Throne of God. On Earth, they are known for causing apocalyptic disasters with their power alone and usually have twelve wings as well. After that are the Thrones. The Thrones are the angels charged with dispensing God's judgment. They execute his commands without fail and are _extremely_ powerful. All Thrones have no less than ten wings. These three ranks represent the first 'sphere' of Heaven.

"Next are the Dominions. These are the angels of leadership, regulating the duties of all the angels below them. They are the ones world leaders and heads of government call upon when they ask God to validate their leadership. After that are the Virtues. These angels are known as the Spirits of Motion and control the elements. They govern all nature and perform miracles. They provide courage, grace, and valor and so are the ones you're calling upon when asking for courage from God. The final rank of that 'sphere' is the Powers. These angels have the task of controlling the border between Heaven and Earth. They are the warrior angels who fight against evil and are the angels of birth and death. Those are the three ranks within the second 'sphere' and all of them have between six to eight wings.

"After that are the Principalities. These angels look over groups of people. They are in charge of the world's nations, cities, and towns. Their duties include taking charge of religion, politics, and the duties of the angels on earth below them. The final rank is the common angel which do the common tasks such as answering prayers, healing and anything else their superiors order them to. Basically, they're the grunts."

Asia took all this in with wide eyes and nods of her heads before she realized something. "But… what about the Archangels? You didn't mention them."

"The Archangels," murmured Harry thoughtfully. "You remember when I mentioned the Four Great Seraph?" Seeing Asia's nod, he continued. "They're called that because besides being Seraph they're also Archangels. Archangels are above all the other ranks. Consider the other ranks sort of like positions in a corporation with Seraphs being the CEOs. Archangels would sort of be like the sons of the owner of the company. While being the owner's son doesn't exactly have a position in the corporation per say, they can still order around anyone in the company due to being the owner's son alone most of the time.

"It's the same yet different with Archangels. Archangels were created much more powerful than other angels. They're powerful, absolute and are Heaven's final and most terrifying weapon. When the Archangels move, nothing is left behind. The Four Great Seraph are all Archangels who took a place Heaven's hierarchy as Seraph. They are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. They are the only Archangels left."

Asia blinked at his words and frowned. "But… Lucifer was an Archangel, right?"

Harry nodded. "Yep. In the beginning there were eight Archangels. Michael was the Archangel of Power, Gabriel was the Archangel of Hope, Uriel was the Archangel of War, Raphael was the Archangel of Knowledge and Wisdom, Azrael was the Archangel of Death, Tyrael was the Archangel of Justice and Valor, Itherael was the Archangel of Fate and Lucifer was the Archangel of Light. Since Lucifer was the Archangel of Light, his Fall was especially damaging as you can imagine."

"And other than Lucifer, what happened to the other three Archangels?" asked Asia innocently.

Harry smiled sadly. "They died in the Great War. Tyrael was killed by Lucifer and the first Leviathan. Itherael by Beelzebub and an army of Devils and Azrael…. Well, no one knows what happened to him but it's accepted that he must have died at some point since he never Fell as far as they knew and he hasn't shown up since. As far as I know, there's an angel called Samael whose taken over his job until a new Archangel of Death can be found."

Asia nodded her head and scrunched up her nose cutely. "So you were going to take Tyrael's place?"

"Yeah," said Harry with a small smile. "I had ascended to the rank of Cherub and deemed ready to take up my predecessor's place as Archangel. I was already powerful enough if not more powerful than the other Archangels so the only thing left was the ceremony and ritual that would anoint me an Archangel. I would still technically be a Cherub in rank but since I was also an Archangel I could order everyone short of one of the Seraph." Harry's smile turned sad. "Raphael had been proud of me."

Asia cocked her head at his words. "Raphael? You knew the Archangel Raphael personally?"

Harry smiled at Asia'a excited face. "Yes. He was actually what you could call my sponsor though we call it 'King' up in Heaven."

Asia looked excited at his admission and leaned forward. "What was he like?"

Harry smirked and laughed as he remembered his old King. "Stiff. Stiff and looks like he's never laughed in his life. I swear I spent most of my time trying to get him to crack a smile."

Harry's smile turned soft. "Despite that…. He was sort of like a second father to me. He was wise and smart but also just and decisive when he needed to be. He trained us well and despite acting aloof always took care of us and supported us. He called us his 'knights' and we were proud to have him as our King. He was… a good man."

Harry lost himself in his memories as he thought back on Raphael. Like he had said, Raphael had been very stiff when they first met but eventually defrosted slightly in regards to his peerage. Harry used to say it was due to his natural charm though Vergil said he was simply so annoying that even Raphael couldn't keep his composure.

Vergil.

Another regret. Another lost comrade.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts when he saw Asia trying to get his attention. "What's wrong, Harry-niichan?"

"Just thinking," said Harry ruefully. "Raphael probably regrets ever meeting me and giving me this sword now. After all, I'm a Fallen Angel and Fallen Angels are all evil aren't they?"

"You're wrong!"

Harry blinked as he looked at an angry Asia. "What?"

"You're not evil," said Asia angrily. "You're a good person and I won't let you say you're not."

Harry smiled sadly. "Asia, you've only known me for two weeks, one of which I spent on a mission. How can you possibly say that you know me well enough to say that?"

"I just know!" said Asia firmly. "An evil person wouldn't have taken me in and protected me. An evil person wouldn't have spent his life hunting down demons and protecting people. Even El'druin knows you're a good person! Even after Falling, it stayed with you and I know that it won't let itself be touched by anyone not pure of heart. So don't say you're evil because you're not! You're my brother and I know you're a good person down to your core."

Harry blinked at Asia's speech and smiled thankfully. "Thanks, Asia. I needed that."

Asia blushed as she realized what she'd done and squeaked cutely, drawing a laugh from Harry. She was just too cute sometimes.

"Why don't you go upstairs and pick out a movie and we can watch it together?" asked Harry gently.

Too embarrassed to speak, Asia just nodded and bolted out of the training room and up the stairs to the living room.

Chuckling as he heard Asia trip and cutely fall on the floor, Harry looked down at El'druin morosely. "How far have I fallen, huh? That a girl half my age has to smack sense into me? And I thought the broody mopey years were over once I got out my teenage years."

"Technically, you're still a teenager since you don't age anymore."

Harry looked up to see Saeko leaning against the door of the training room with a small smile on her face. She was wearing a purple skirt and a white shirt that did little to hide her large bust. Since they were at home, she only had a pair of sandals on her feet.

"Hey Saeko," said Harry with a warm smile at the sight of her. "Want to watch a movie with Asia and I? I was just finishing up here to join her."

Saeko hesitated before shaking her head. "Sure but we'll have to do that another time though. We'll be busy for the next two days at least."

Harry cocked an eyebrow in confusion before understanding hit him. "You mean…"

"Yes," confirmed Saeko. "Network has finished the timeline and found where Sorel probably got his Sacred Gear. It's time to hunt."

* * *

**AN: And there's chapter 1!**

**I decided against simply skipping straight to the highschool dxd canon storyline and decided to give a bit of character development for Harry first. As you can see, this is a year after his Fall and a year before canon highschool dxd starts. Harry has become a demon hunter with a sort of team/family but hasn't truly moved on from what happened. Sure, he has something of a relationship with Saeko but he hasn't truly moved on. This arc which is the year leading up to highschool dxd canon will deal with his moving on and finding himself again.**

**The entire explanation of Heaven's hierarchy was more for Harry and Asia to bond than to explain it. Being a nun all her life, I'm guessing Asia would be very interested in Harry's personal experiences as an angel, especially since he's still a good person unlike most Fallen.**

**Next chapter introduces another key character who'll have a large impact on Harry.**

**As always, Read and Review!**


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